Curious about what everyone thinks about showing uncalled hands in terms of strategy. Maybe based on this... Tonight, raising kind of light at a tight table and just winning the blinds. Seat change lets us 3 bet the crazy wide opener, who folds to our 3 bets a few times with some mumblings from other tight players who called the raise but won't stick in for the 3-bet. (Hero image is pretty solid).

Once or twice when Hero 3-bet and got mumbles and folds, Hero was able to show AA, and did. My question for strategy is - is this a good idea? My thought is I want them to fold to lighter 3-bets when Hero has AJ, KJ, K10, etc., pre. So I thought validating what they might be thinking I have (either totally FOS or the goods), it might be a good idea to show the nuts (acting disappointed because of no calls) for future hands when I'm raising or 3-betting light pre.

Any input appreciated!

Why? There's just absolutely no reason to show (unless MAYBE trying to tilt a mega fish who's got a deep stack or something, if he tilts easily)

At llsnl people just aren't going to play back at you light, they just don't do it. They will "wait til they get a monster" and try to stack you when really you'll fold to there 4bet/ raises a huge % of the time.

Just hope one of the times they have a monster is when you have AA.

Do it once, after the muttering has been going a while, when you have a monster. Then say something like, "OK, OK, just this once, I'll show, but no more. You guys just have to understand that tonight's my night. Check this out."

i wont show to avoid complicating future decisions.

for instance, if you show AA after 3b, the next time you get AA and 3b, you may level yourself into not being able to bet for value post flop bc they are putting you on exactly AA and you cant get any value from worse.

same goes if you show a bluff.

the next time you are betting for value and get c/r, you are now in the dark as to whether your opponent is c/r bc he thinks he has the best hand, or bc he thinks your a fos.

unless you are a master of the meta game. then show all you want and own your opponents.

generally it is never a good idea to show your uncalled hands.

but, there is a rare exception I've encountered:

every once in a great while, you may "befriend" someone sitting next to you, especially when they're drinking. I've befriended people to the point where they actually tell me their hands at a certain point (usually by whispering, sometimes actually exposing their cards to me) and warn me to fold. I'm talking about big hands like straights, flushes, even quads once when I wasn't sure if they had the goods or not. This has certainly saved me $$$ at times as I had a decent hand and I had thought about betting into or calling them. In exchange, if I'm heads-up with them in a small pot and I get them to fold, I'll quickly show them (and them only if I can get away with it) a decent hand and say "Nice fold" or something like that to keep them friendly.

Not showing > showing value hands > showing bluffs IMO.

I post this article a lot but ill paste a section here too...
http://tommyangelo.com/articles/reciprocality/

Why do people show? So many reasons.

1) Keep the game friendly.
2) Show your bluffs so you get value later.
3) Show your value to bluff later.

Not saying any of these reasons are valid for YOU/US to show, but that is why SOME people show.

I sometimes show for reason 1 or 3 and rarely 2. Almost every time when I do I later can't honestly say it had strategic value. I think reason 1 very occasionally in the right games is justifiable for me. But mostly not showing is best. Put it this way... Whatever the reason I appreciate it when my opponents show.

This is baloney. Don't talk. Don't show hands unless required. Play "mum poker " (read Tommy Angelo's book if "mum poker" doesn't sound a bell)

Excellent post cAmmAndo.

I never show a hand that didn't go to showdown. Many times people will ask me what I had, or tell me what they think I had trying to get a reaction. I always smile a bit, shrug, and say "I'll tell you for $X" (where $X is the amount of the bet they didn't call). This seems to gain me information about the way the villains think I'm playing, or how they would play themselves, without actually giving them any information.

Most of the time I don't bother trying to actively manipulate villains' perceptions of my play. I just try to adapt to what they think of me and what kinds of hands I'm getting. (Is this a leak? Maybe.)

Weaker players desperately want to know the identity of unrevealed cards in a hand. When they don´t get to find out, they get slowly nibbled at by curiosity which leads eventually to frustration.

Which means:

1. They may make bad decisions.
2. They may harbour resentment / frustration towards you.
3. They probably won´t enjoy the game so much.

No. Dont show. Id rather tighten up my 3bet range when they start to think im a maniac. Value-town bro.

Here's a lesson I learnt the hard way recently: make sure you're aware of any high-hand promotions in the room. I made quads the 2nd hand after sitting down in a new room, villain mucked river and I cost myself $100 by not showing.

I might be missing out on some strategic benefit in some places, but in the end I've decided simply to never show (even in cases where it might be more beneficial to show, such in cases where I've pulled a rare bluff in order to loosen up my OMC image). I just think the never showing idea has a benefit of constantly putting doubt in people's minds and never alleviates their questions, hopefully to the point where that drives them nuts.

Nothing feels better to me at the table than making a laydown and then villain showing me their hand. Whether I've made a good laydown or not, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing. So I never give my opponents the same satisfaction.

GnevershowingG

Mum poker is horrible for the game when you are playing against rec fish. They hate it, get tight, stop having fun, and take their money to the craps table where they can whoop it up. Absolutely kills the game.

I have no problem with it when you are playing against other serious poker players, although I find my table image to be more +EV, but at a donkathon it is a gigantic EV killer.

I think it's sad if you have to show hands to make it fun. Show some personality and creativity to liven up the table. I an say "it's just my night to get hands" and convince them I mean it without actually showing. You're not just giving perfect info to the fish but to the other 7-8 guys (assuming males cuz girls cant play we know this).

My comment above was not on showing in particular (which I will only do in very rare circumstances for very specific strategic reasons), but on the concept of playing "mum poker" at LLSNL tables. Particularly the interpretation that this means "don't talk." Tommy Angelo actually says that it means "don't talk about poker," which I can get behind, but most people misinterpret it to mean, "play like a robot."

Agreed. Sorry if I misinterpreted. We are actually in agreement then. I hold my image as a likable and friendly guy to be very important. Can't maintain that without talking at the table. Ill even talk poker but will refrain from offering anything of substance.

I also meant "mum" as in "don't talk about poker". Of course, being nice and talking about other stuff (not being a robot) is ok. But showing hands IS talking about poker. Don't do it and don't find excuses why you should. If they ask you what you have, always answer "pocket aces". If they ask a yes/no question (did you bluff, did you have a set, are you on a draw etc') - always answer "yes". Until it becomes a friendly joke, they get it and stop asking.

The only time I really show is after a HUGE bluff. I mean, it's LLSNL and my bluffing frequency is really almost nil once the pot gets really big unless I think the spot is amazing as people just love to call. Showing huge bluffs like that loosens my image enough and doesn't really force me to adjust at all. I just do it so that I do get action for the rest of the night, even though I am honestly a pretty tight tight tag.

I'll also show dumb hands that I end up with checking in the bb or something just to keep the game friendly. You show your bb hand and your opponent will flash back the hand that he limped UTG. Totally +EV.